A sheet feeding apparatus includes a tray that stores a recording medium in a closed state in which the tray is placed in an apparatus body, the tray being capable of being pulled out from the apparatus body in a predetermined pulling direction; a transport unit that is provided on the apparatus body and that transports the recording medium in a direction crossing the pulling direction when the tray is in the closed state; a first contact portion provided on the tray and having a contact surface spaced from the transport unit when viewed in the pulling direction, the first contact portion being located upstream of the transport unit in the pulling direction and the contact surface being in contact with an upstream end portion of the recording medium stored in the tray in the pulling direction when the tray is in the closed state; a second contact portion disposed at a position that is upstream of the transport unit in the pulling direction and at which the second contact portion overlaps the transport unit when viewed in the pulling direction, the second contact portion having a contact surface that is in contact with the end portion when the tray is in the closed state; a first overlapping portion provided on the first contact portion and disposed downstream of the second contact portion in the pulling direction, the first overlapping portion overlapping the second contact portion when viewed in the pulling direction; and an urging portion that urges the second contact portion downstream in the pulling direction so that the second contact portion abuts against the first overlapping portion when the tray is in the closed state.

An image forming system includes: an image former that forms an image; a stacker that stacks a recording medium on which an image has been formed by the image former and which has been discharged from the image former; a lifter that raises or lowers the stacker between a stacking position where the recording medium is stacked and a lower position located below the stacking position; a recording medium detector that detects the recording medium stacked on the stacker; and a hardware processor that controls driving of the lifter so as to lower the stacker from the stacking position to the lower position when it is determined that the recording medium is on the stacker on the basis of a detection result of the recording medium detector within start-up time from a time when power is switched on to a time of shifting to an image formable state.

A sheet feeding device includes a sheet stacking unit, a long sheet stacking unit, a first guide, a first detector, and a closing unit. The sheet stacking unit is movable up and down. Sheets are stacked on the sheet stacking unit. The long sheet stacking unit is detachably mounted on the sheet stacking unit. Long sheets are stacked on the long sheet stacking unit. The first guide is movable along a feeding direction through a groove. The first guide is deformable into a shape that does not interfere with the long sheet stacking unit. The first guide guides a rear end portion of the sheets in the feeding direction. The first detector is provided in the first guide. The first detector detects the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit. The closing unit is detachably attached to the groove in the sheet stacking unit. The closing unit closes the groove.

A paper feeder includes a processor configured to, in a case of lowering a paper feed tray on which paper is placed in an accommodation section that accommodates paper and replenishing paper, the paper feed tray being controlled to be raised/lowered in a case of replenishing paper, control a lowering amount of the paper feed tray according to a number of sheets of paper to be replenished.

A sheet stacker includes a sheet stacking portion, a pair of sheet restrictors, a sheet feeder, and a position detector. A bundle of sheets is stacked on the sheet stacking portion in a stacking direction, and the sheet stacking portion moves in the stacking direction. The pair of sheet restrictors move in a width direction to regulate a position of the bundle of sheets in the width direction. The sheet feeder feeds a top sheet of the bundle of sheets at a sheet feeding position in a sheet feeding direction. The sheet feeding position is disposed at a top of the bundle of sheets in the stacking direction. The position detector is disposed between the pair of sheet restrictors in the width direction and above the sheet feeding position in the stacking direction. The position detector detects a position of the pair of sheet restrictors in the width direction.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a first feeder, a second feeder, and processing circuitry. The first feeder includes a sheet stacker, an air blower, a suction feeder, and a remaining amount detection sensor. The air blower blows air to float an uppermost sheet. The suction feeder sucks and feeds the sheet. The remaining amount detection sensor detects a remaining amount of sheets stacked. The processing circuitry determines whether the remaining amount of sheets in the first feeder is smaller than a threshold, causes the first feeder to perform a feeding operation of feeding the sheet floated by the air blower to the suction feeder in response to a determination that the remaining amount is equal to or greater than the threshold, and causes the second feeder to feed a sheet instead of the first feeder in response to a determination that the remaining amount is smaller than the threshold.

A sheet supporting apparatus includes a body, a supporting portion configured to be held in an elevating manner by the body and to support a sheet, a sheet regulation portion regulating a position of the sheet supported on the supporting portion, a movement portion capable of moving between a first position where the sheet regulation portion regulates the position of the sheet supported on the supporting portion, and a second position where the supporting portion is regulated from elevating with respect to the body, and a movement regulation unit regulating the movement portion from moving to the second position.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet storing tray for loading sheets, an apparatus main body to which the sheet storing tray is slidably attached, and a restriction mechanism that restricts a position of the sheet storing tray. The restriction mechanism includes an engagement portion provided in the apparatus main body and a stopper member that is provided in the sheet storing tray and engages with the engagement portion. The stopper member is configured so as to be movable in a crossing direction crossing a direction in which the sheet storing tray slides and determines a position in the crossing direction of the sheet storing tray with respect to the apparatus main body.

A sheet feeder, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a sheet loader, an air blowing device, a regulator, a sheet attracting device, and a sheet conveying body. The sheet loader loads a sheet bundle including a sheet and a subsequent sheet placed below the sheet. The air blowing device blows air and lifts the sheet over the sheet bundle. The regulator regulates movement of the subsequent sheet, and includes an opposing portion located upper end and separated from the sheet loader toward the downstream side of the sheet conveying direction and an inclined portion upwardly inclined relative to a vertical axis from a same position as the sheet loader to the downstream side of the sheet conveying direction. The sheet attracting device attracts the sheet lifted over the sheet bundle. The sheet conveying body conveys the sheet in a sheet conveying direction.

In an image forming system, a hardware processor controls whether the first sheet is conveyed to an upstream side of the image former via a first conveying path which reverses sides of the first sheet or via a second conveying path which does not reverse the sides of the first sheet as well as the first conveying path, when images are formed on both sides of a plurality of the first sheets by the image former, in order to narrow a space between a plurality of the first sheets.